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The optimal performance of organic electrodes for aqueous batteries requires their full compatibility with selected electrolyte solutions. Electrode materials having 1-3-dimensional structures of variable rigidity possess a confined space in their structure filled with water and electrolyte solutions. Depending on the rigidity and confined space geometry, insertion and extraction of ions into electrode structures are often coupled with incorporation/withdrawal of water molecules. Aside from the scientific interest in understanding the charging mechanism of such systems, co-insertion of solvent molecules affects strongly the charge storage capability of the electrodes for energy storage devices. We present herein in situ electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (EQCM-D) investigations of polyaniline (PANI) electrodes operating in various aqueous Na

The design of electrolyte solutions that permit reversible and efficient Mg metal electrodeposition is one of the most important tasks in the development of rechargeable Mg batteries. Several types of electrolyte solutions for Mg metal anodes have been developed and explored over the last two decades. These investigations have contributed to a better understanding of the Mg deposition and stripping processes. However, the Coulombic efficiency (CE) for reversible electrodeposition reported for these various systems and their performance in comparison to one another remained unclear. We used rigorous electrochemical methods to accurately quantify the average CE of the major electrolyte solutions considered for secondary Mg metal batteries. We demonstrated how changes in the experiential protocols influence CE measurements, resulting in inconsistent reports. Even though exceptional efficiency has been reported for a variety of systems, we discovered that the only candidate that currently meets the 99% CE benchmark during a prolonged cycling procedure is the dichloro-complex, which is a first-generation Grignard-based electrolyte solution. Second- and third-generation Grignard-free and chloride-free solutions showed reasonable CE only when the deposition currents densities were lowered. This comprehensive and systematic investigation will help to create a more accurate treasure map for potential electrolyte solutions for rechargeable Mg metal anodes.

Consciousness, despite decades of research, is still an enigma that puzzles many scientists. Most of the studies investigating consciousness and the intricate interplay with attention (top-down selective attention and its necessity for consciousness) rely predominantly on visual studies. This severely limits our understanding of how attention and consciousness operate outside the visual modality, and whether the underlying principles across modalities are the same. One of the aims of this thesis is to test the generalisability of the visual findings. This thesis contributes novel investigation to test the generalisation of the findings in the visual domain to the tactile modality. The results of this thesis suggest that consciousness operates in a similar manner between modalities, but attention may not. As this is the first tactile dual-task investigation with metacognitive measurements, more research is needed to make a more affirmative claim.

Attention and consciousness in the tactile domain. Dual task using 6 tactors.

Block copolymer electrolytes (BCE) such as polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (SEO) blended with lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) and composed of mechanically robust insulating and rubbery conducting nanodomains are promising solid-state electrolytes for Li batteries. Here, we compare ionic solvation, association, distribution, and conductivity in SEO-LiTFSI BCEs and their homopolymer PEO-LiTFSI analogs toward a fundamental understanding of the maximum in conductivity and transport mechanisms as a function of salt concentration. Ionic conductivity measurements reveal that SEO-LiTFSI and PEO-LiTFSI exhibit similar behaviors up to a Li/EO ratio of 1/12, where roughly half of the available solvation sites in the system are filled, and conductivity is maximized. As the Li/EO ratios increase to 1/5 the conductivity, of the PEO-LiTFSI drops nearly 3-fold, while the conductivity of SEO-LiTFSI remains constant. FTIR spectroscopy reveals that additional Li cations in the homopolymer electrolyte are complexed by additional EO units when the Li/EO ratio exceeds 1/12, while in the BCE, the proportion of complexed and uncomplexed EO units remains constant; Raman spectroscopy data at the same concentrations show that Li cations in the SEO-LiTFSI samples tend to coordinate more to their counteranions. Atomistic-scale molecular dynamics simulations corroborate these results and further show that associated ions tend to segregate to the SEO-LiTFSI domain interfaces. The opportunity for "excess" salt to be sequestered at BCE interfaces results in the retention of an optimum ratio of uncompleted and complexed PEO solvation sites in the middle of the conductive nanodomains of the BCE and maximized conductivity over a broad range of salt concentrations.

This work aims to develop a detailed mechanistic understanding of the role of a graft polymer architecture on lithium ion (Li+) transport in poly(ethylene oxide)-based polymer electrolytes. Specifi...

Ion conducting capability is often imparted to polymeric materials through short polyether side-chains, and yet the impact of this graft polymer architecture on ion solvation and conduction has not been fully explored. Here, we use a combination of impedance spectroscopy, vibrational spectroscopy, and atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) to compare the conductivity, ionic interactions, and polymer dynamics in a series of graft polyether electrolytes. We find that in poly[(oligo ethylene oxide)methyl ether methacrylate] (POEM), a widely used graft polymer electrolyte, the ionic conductivity drops more than an order of magnitude as the side-chain length is decreased from nine ethylene oxide (EO) units to three. This difference in conductivity is unexplained by differences in the calorimetric glass transition temperature (Tg), which varies only slightly with side-chain length. Through vibrational spectroscopy and MD simulations we demonstrate that both linear and graft polyethers solvate Li+ ions effectively and dissociate them from large counterions, irrespective of side-chain length. Li+ ions do, however, show preferential solvation by EO units far from the methacrylate backbone. Similarly, EO units far from the backbone show enhanced segmental dynamics, while those near the immobile methacrylate group move substantially more slowly, as quantified by bond vector autocorrelation relaxation times. This heterogeneity in both ion solvation and local segmental relaxation explains variation in ion conductivity where material-averaged properties such as Tg and number of free ions fail to do so. Importantly, the ionic conductivity is dictated primarily by the segmental mobility of the EO units which form effective solvation sites, rather than system-wide dynamics.